Horselike movement simulating pedalless tricycle



June 26, 1956 R. M. BOWMAN 2,752,162

HORSELIKE MOVEMENT SIMULATING PEDALLESS TRICYCLE Filed Oct. 21, 1952 g 26 3o 26 3 l 4 L 34 i 3/ 2 6 2 I 35 0 0 I4- 24 1 3e 36 36 REG/NALD/Zflan/MAM Jjnfieninr Qtfururg United States Patent HORSELIKE MOVEMENTSIMULATING PEDALLESS TRICYCLE Reginald M. Bowman, Baltimore, Md.

Application October 21, 1952, Serial No. 315,943

2 Claims. (Cl. 280-1192) This invention relates to toy vehicles and moreparticularly to tricycles of the pedalless type.

The conventional tricycle is fitted with two wheels at the rear and asingle wheel at the front. The front wheel is provided with a pair ofpedals to rotate the front Wheel and move and guide the tricycle alongthe terrain. In the operation of the conventional tricycle the operatoris seated on a fixed seat and moves the pedals with his feet, While thebody remains stationary.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new andimproved tricycle of the pedalless type which uses the weight of theoperator and his lifting powers to push the vehicle along the terrain.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedvehicle operating means utilizing the weight of the operator to rotatethe wheel a portion of its revolution while the balance of the rotationis secured by pulling up on the handle bars and steering post while thefeet are resting on a platform.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedvehicle for simulating the motion of a horse back rider in rising andlowering motions as the vehicle runs along the terrain.

Other objects will become apparent as the invention is more fully setforth.

For a clearer understanding of the invention and its objects, referenceis made to the accompanying drawings, wherein a particular form of theinvention is indicated. These drawings when used in conjunction with thefollowing description serve to illustrate the invention, its principlesand the operation thereof, while the claims indicate its scope.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevation of a pedalless tricycle, embodying thisinvention, with parts broken away to show its inner construction;

Figure 2 is a rear elevation of Figure 1, without the animal outline;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of Figure 1 without the animal outline;and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of Figure 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout thedrawings.

In the particular construction shown in the drawings, a platform isaflixed to and supported by a pair of rear wheels 11. The rear end ofthe platform is preferably provided with a cut-out portion 12 to receivethe end 13 of a rocker support 14 which is pivoted to the platform 10 bya pin 15 and held by brackets 36. The front end of the platform 10 isprovided with a bifurcated bracket 16 having prongs 18 attached by abolt 17 to platform 10 to support an axle 19 that is fixedly attached tothe front wheel 20 and turns therewith. The ends 21 of the axle 19 aresmaller and preferably of an irregular form and are attached to, anddriven by, levers or cranks 22 attached by a pin 23 to a bifurcatedconnecting rod 24 that straddles the wheel 20 and rotates it in a mannerto be described. The upper end 25 of the connecting rod 24 is pivotallyattached to a turnable bearing 26 by a hinge 35 and is moved from sideto side by handle bars 27. The lower end 28 of the handle bars 27 isattached to the bearing 26 and turns same. The lower end 28 of thehandle bars 27 is preferably of circular form, and is rotated in abearing 34 attached to the upper end of the rocker support 14. A seat 29is attached by a screw member 30 to the rocker support 14 and isadjustably positioned therein to suit the length of the legs of the userand is preferably locked in adjusted position by a lock nut 31. Therocker support 14 is preferably encased in a facsimile of an animal body32 with a movable head 33 which is attached to the turnable bearing 26and moves with it when the handle bars 27 and front wheel 20 are turnedto guide the vehicle. The connecting rod 24 is preferably formed torepresent the front legs and feet of an animal.

In the operation of the device the user sits on the seat 29 with hisfeet positioned on the platform 10 and his hands on the handle bars 27.He stiifens his legs and pulls up on the handle bar 27 and raises theconnecting rod 24 and levers 22 to rotate it and the wheel 20 about thewheel axle 19 a portion of a revolution, and the tensions on the legsare then released and the weight of the operators body depresses therocker support 14 to force the connecting rod 14 and levers 22 to drivethe front wheel 20 to complete the balance of the revolution and theoperation is repeated to drive the toy along the terrain.

While but one general form of the invention is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the specification, it is not desired to limit thisapplication for patent to this particular form as it is appreciated thatother forms of construction could be made that would use the sameprinciples and come within the scope of the appended claims. Having thusdescribed the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A toy of the class described comprising in combination a horizontalplatform, wheels fixedly attached to the rear end of said platform,rocker support means pivotally attached to the rear of said platform, abracket parallel to the platform and pivotally connected at the front ofsaid platform, an axle attached to said bracket, a driving wheel mountedon said axle, parallel levers each having one end attached to theopposite ends of said axle, connecting rods for joining the rockersupport to the free ends of the said parallel levers to rotate the frontwheel and move the toy along the terrain, and guiding means carried bythe rocker support at the front end thereof and connected to theconnecting rods to rotate the front wheel about the pivotal connectionof the bracket with the platform.

2. A childs vehicle comprising a rear wheel assembly includingtransversely spaced wheels, an axle connecting said wheels, a platformhaving its rear end mounted on said axle, a traction wheel forward ofthe rear wheels, a vertical pivot pivotally securing a bracket to theforward end of the platform, an axle for the traction wheel mounted onsaid bracket, a support pivoted at its rear end to the axle of the rearwheels, a saddle on said support, a bearing mounted at the front end ofthe support, a steering post extending through said bearing and securedtherein, handle bars integral with the upper end of the steering post, acrank connected to the axle of the traction wheel, a connecting rodsecured at one end to the said crank and a hinge connection between theopposite end of the connecting rod and the lower end of the steeringpost, the aforesaid vertical pivot being substantially aligned with thesteering post to allow steering of the 1,088,185 SWender Feb. 24, 1914firont wheel' by means of the handle bars. 1,493,895 Reed May 13, 19242,344,062 Rjnehart Mar. 14, 1944 References Clte d 1n the fillegfpatentFOREIGN PATENTS V UNITED STATES T S 465,914 Germany Sept. 27, 1928207,240 Bishop 5 Aug. 20, 1878

